Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that the paper’s opinion editor has “decided to step away” as the section takes a new direction focusing on “personal liberties and free markets.”
Bezos, the founder of Amazon, announced the changes on X.
“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,” he wrote. “We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”
I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning:
I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages.
We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too…
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) February 26, 2025
Bezos explained that today the internet covers the task that newspaper opinion sections once did — covering opinions on all views.
Bezos said he offered David Shipley, the paper’s opinion editor, the opportunity to stay at the helm under this new editorial direction, but he declined.
Shipley had helmed the section since 2022.
“I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes’ then it had to be ‘no.’ After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We’ll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction,” Bezos said.
Bezos explained a reason for the change in direction, saying: “A big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.”
“I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void,” he added.
The Washington Post — and Bezos — clashed with President Donald Trump over the paper’s coverage during Trump’s first term. Trump repeatedly took aim at Bezos and threatened antitrust action against Amazon. In Trump’s still-young second term, however, Bezos has appeared to have taken a different tack, even attending the president’s inauguration along with other affluent tech titans.
Source : https://www.nbcnews.com/media/jeff-bezos-washington-post-op-ed-david-shipley-rcna193817
